


Homehaunted

by lbk_princen



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, John is a prankster even in death, Minor Original Character(s), Past Character Death, Poltergeists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-02-24 09:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13210884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lbk_princen/pseuds/lbk_princen
Summary: When Rose, Dave, and Jade move in together in a lovely little house in Seattle, Washington to escape their old lives, the last thing they expect is to find a fourth roommate... One who maybe had been there all along.///In this au, everyone is abt 20 years old. Tags will be added as I go.





	1. =-> Move in.

Dave rolled down the window of Rose’s silver porsche, peering out at the two-story, plain-looking house. “This is it?” he asked, not glancing at her as she shut off the ignition. They were deep in the heart of a cookie-cutter suburban neighbourhood that absolutely screamed ‘middle class.’

 

“This is it,” Rose confirmed. She was digging through her purse, a purple hand-crafted thing, presumably for the house keys.

 

“How much was this place again?” Dave rolled up the window. He needed to start tabulating how much he’d owe her for rent once he actually had money.

 

Rose went “aha,” as she found the key. “Cheaper than you might assume,” she replied, gazing over at him with her narrow, knowing eyes. “Many people apparently turned it down, although when I checked it out there were no glaring faults or abnormalities, other than it is rather… chilly.”

 

“Great,” Dave muttered under his breath. He was already wearing a sweater, with the sleeves rolled down, no less, because Washington late-summer was too cold already for his Texan sensibilities. The last thing he wanted was a house without proper heating. He reminded himself to be grateful, because he was lucky Rose was letting him live with her at all.

 

They both exited the car laden with luggage and walked up the drive to the front door. While Rose worked the lock, Dave took a moment to notice the yard. The large SOLD sign by the curb. The towering tree and its lonely-looking tire swing. The dappled shadows that the leaves helped the morning sun cast over the swing and the ground that felt oddly eerie when it should have been picturesque. He made a mental note to come out and take a photo later.

 

Inside the house was just as cozy-yet-unsettling as the yard. Dave shivered as he crossed the threshold. Rose was setting her bags down by the staircase, so he opted to do the same. She surveyed the foyer/living room, noting the old ashes in the worn brick fireplace. There was a tiny hole in the wall above the mantle, suggesting that a picture had been hung there, once. The spot where the TV had been was painfully obvious; a rectangle of wall that was whiter than the rest.

 

“When’s the furniture coming?” Dave asked, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

 

“It’s not confirmed. Sometime this week.”

 

“Great,” Dave mumbled under his breath again.

 

“Isn’t it just?” Rose took a deep breath in and smiled pleasantly on the exhale. It was just the right amount of forced to let him know that she was being passive-aggressive.

 

“And when’s Jade coming?”

 

Rose grabbed a bag full of food items. “I’ll be picking her up from the airport later today. Would you help me put away the groceries?”

 

“Uh, sure.” Dave took the other food bag, and the two of them pushed past the saloon-style half doors into the kitchen. “Does yogurt go in the fridge?” he asked, holding up a tub of Oikos.

 

“Dairy products typically do,” Rose replied as she began stacking the contents of her bag on the counter.

 

Once the kitchen was stocked, Rose invited Dave to take a look around the house while she made them some lunch.

 

Immediately he was drawn to the room beside the kitchen. It was rather spacious, and devoid of any decor save for the old piano in the corner. He didn't really play, not anything classical at least. When he was fifteen, Bro had gotten him a programmable electric keyboard, the kind twelve year olds used to record fart sounds and play them back in a tune. He had never taken lessons, but he had learned to play shitty pop songs by ear; that was about it.

 

When he pressed down on a couple of the keys, the notes rang out true and clear. They were real ivory too, or Dave thought they were. They definitely weren't plastic like his keyboard’s had been. It almost felt rude for him to be touching it. Like he was disturbing something he shouldn't be. He hastily pulled his hands back to himself and left the room, trying to ignore the crawling feeling on his spine.

 

Upstairs were two bedrooms, each with a bed frame that held up a bare mattress. The bathroom was nice, recently cleaned, if the smell of bleach was any indicator. He wasn’t sure how he felt about having to share it with Rose and Jade. He’d shared a bathroom with his brother all his life, but he’d never shared a bathroom with _girls_ before. He supposed that just meant he couldn’t leave his boxers on the floor anymore.

 

Before long, Rose called up to him, and the two of them sat on the kitchen counter together, eating their grilled cheese sandwiches. She’d added ham to them, and used pepper on the outside. The bread was thick and the cheese was perfectly melty and stretchy. It was better than any grilled cheese Dave had ever had before. He expressed his appreciation by moaning and saying through a mouthful of deliciousness, “Fuck, I am rock-hard right now.”

 

Rose laughed at him behind her hand, her shoulders bouncing slightly.

 

Later, when Rose left to get Jade, Dave asked to tag along. Something about the thought of him being alone in the house didn’t sit well with him. Normally he treasured his alone time, but more recently he found being alone meant mistaking shadows for his brother lurking, waiting to accost him in a strife, so being alone meant not being able to relax.

 

The two of them got back in the porsche and headed for the airport.

 

////

 

It had taken two flights, three bus rides, one train, and many hours for Jade to get to Seattle. By the time she dragged her trunk away from baggage claim, she was exhausted. Excited for her destination, but tired of getting there. She waited for her friends by the doors of the airport, and she perked up considerably when she saw them getting out of a fancy-looking silver car.

 

Greetings were exchanged - Jade hugged Rose tightly and gave Dave a hearty high-five, remembering from previous visits that he wasn’t much of a hugger - and luggage was loaded into the trunk.

 

The three of them went for pizza, and Jade insisted on paying. “You’re already paying for the house, Rose, I can handle the three slices,” she said. The inheritance money her grandfather had left for her in a safe in the house was more than enough to pay for dinner and for her rent to Rose.

 

When they went back to the house, Jade felt chills as she walked in. “This place seems really quaint,” she said, letting all four of her trunks wheels touch the ground. She had added them herself to make it more mobile.

 

“We can figure out whose room is who's in the morning,” Rose said. “For now I thought it would be nice for us all to have a sleepover in the living room.”

 

“Sounds great to me!” Jade exclaimed, grinning.

 

Dave sort of shrugged and mumbled something about pillow fights.

 

Turns were taken in the bathroom, and once the three of them had laid out their blankets and pillows and - in Jade’s case - squiddles, they all sat down and talked for hours into the evening. Rose lit some scented candles she’d brought with her, filling the room with the smell of vanilla and lavender, and Dave put on some quiet music in the background. Jade laughed harder than she thought she had in a long time. With the three of them together like this, the chill of the house couldn’t get through to them, and they were at ease.

 

Eventually, the travel-lag caught up with Jade and she was out like a light. Dave and Rose continued to chat quietly, both of them not unused to staying up late into the night, until a strange sound hushed both of them.

 

“Did you hear that?” Dave asked.

 

“It was probably just the wind,” Rose replied.

 

“None of the windows are open though. I definitely heard a door opening.”

 

“How do you know I didn’t open any windows?” Rose asked pointedly, her voice gently mocking.

 

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you?”

 

“No,” she admitted.

 

“Then it wasn’t-” Dave halted mid-sentence as they heard it again. The creak of hinges, coming from upstairs.

 

There was a period of silence where neither of them said anything, each holding their breath as they waited for something else to happen. Nothing did.

 

“Maybe it’s a ghost,” Rose whispered teasingly, breaking the spell.

 

Dave rolled his eyes. “Or maybe we’re both hearing shit that isn’t real.”

 

“The probability that we are both experiencing the same auditory hallucinations is very slim, Strider.”

 

Once Jade had started to snore, they had turned off the lights, leaving the candles as the only source of illumination. They all flickered simultaneously, as if a breeze had wafted by. Neither of them had felt a breeze, though.

 

“You’re not scared, are you Lalonde?” Dave asked, his voice barely audible.

 

“Not at all,” Rose replied cooly. It was true, for the most part. She wasn’t _scared,_ however she did think that _unsettled_ and _disquieted_ were suitable adjectives for how she was feeling.

 

“Good,” Dave said. “Me either.”

 

“Me _neither_ ,” she corrected.

 

“Go to sleep, Rose,” Dave said tiredly as he let himself fall against his pillow.

 

Rose blew out the candles around her and said goodnight to him. They both pretended to sleep while they listened to the house creak and groan.

 

The next morning, all three of them slept in. Jade because she was travel-weary, Dave and Rose because they were not naturally morning people.

 

When Rose finally got up, it was because the sun filtering through the window was shining directly on her face. That, and her stomach was staging a protest against the lack of nourishment. She dragged herself to the bathroom. On the way she noticed that every single one of the upstairs doors was open, despite the fact that she always meticulously closed doors behind her, and she had the feeling Dave did so as well. Attempting to shrug off the bothered feeling that settled into her gut, she headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.

 

Dave and Jade awoke to the smell of hash browns and sausages.

 

“Have I ever told you that I love you? Because I love you,” Dave announced as he pushed into the kitchen.

 

“Too late! I love her more.” Jade grinned cheekily and showed off her plate of food.

 

Dave gripped his chest, right above his heart, and staggered dramatically into the counter. “I… can’t believe it,” he choked out. “Rose…. How could you?”

 

“Jade was here first,” Rose replied mildly, forking a couple of hash browns onto another plate.

 

The three of them ate breakfast on the floor in the kitchen together, and Dave cleaned up the kitchen afterwards. Chores were never really his favourite thing, but if there was one good thing that came out of Bro making him do everything for himself it was that he knew how to do them. He felt like it was the least he could do, since he was essentially freeloading.

 

“I’m thinking of going into town and finding out if there are any good gardening shops,” Jade said thoughtfully from the ground. “I checked out the backyard, and I could at least grow some veggies out there I think. It’s so cold here, though, I don’t trust the weather, so I wanna look into one of those plant shelves or something like that for indoors.”

 

Rose nodded, wiping the last bits of sausage grease off her lips with the edge of her sleeve. She hadn’t put any makeup on yet, so she didn’t have to worry about ruining her lipstick. “I can drop you off somewhere, if you like. I need to go to the university to confirm my registration. That’s the whole reason we’re here, after all.”

 

“Why did you decide to go to a school in Seattle, again?” Dave asked, elbow deep in soapy water. “Didn’t you get accepted to like twenty colleges all across the country?”

 

Rose shrugged. “It has a very nice psychology department. They have a program specifically for social work, and I’ve been considering going into that.”

 

“Isn’t social work super stressful and emotionally involved?” Dave said, turning his head to look at Rose.

 

She met his gaze evenly. “Yes, people certainly say that. However, I think helping kids would be immensely rewarding. Especially if I was saving them from a situation they didn’t realize was unhealthy.”

 

Dave couldn’t continue holding her stare and he went back to scrubbing  silently, with more vigor than was strictly necessary.

 

“Maybe you should enroll, Jade,” Rose suggested. “You could get a BA in physics. Or even botany.”

 

Jade blinked in surprise from the suddenness of it. “Oh! I don’t know about that…. I don’t even have a high school diploma.”

 

“Oh, of course, silly me,” Rose laughed lightly. “Though I think you’re smart enough that they could look over that.”

 

“That’s very nice of you to say, Rose, but I’m not all that interested in getting a formal education!” Jade smiled politely at her friend. “My Grandpa used to say that the best thinkers teach themselves, and the best teachers think for themselves. He didn’t like the system very much.”

 

Dave scoffed. “And that’s why he lived on an otherwise uninhabited island away from the rest of humanity, right?”

 

“I was there too,” she protested. “But yeah, probably.”

 

“Well, I know I’m not going to be getting into any colleges anytime soon,” Dave said as he dried his hands on his jeans. “So it’d probably be a good idea for me to look around for a job.”

 

“We’re all going to town, then?” Rose asked as she picked herself up off the ground.

 

“I dunno about you guys, but I’d like to maybe get dressed first,” Jade giggled.

 

So the three of them got ready to go out. Jade put on a long skirt and a warm sweater, Dave exchanged his jeans and hoodie for a different pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, and Rose wore leggings, skirt, and a white button-up. They left the house and Rose locked the door. Just as they were getting into the car, a 30-something year old woman approached them from across the street.

 

“Hi, I’m Cheryl! You guys are the new neighbours, huh?” She had long, flat-ironed hair with fading highlights and a smile that showed a little bit of her upper gums.

 

“That we are,” Rose replied politely. “I’m Rose, that’s Jade, and this is Dave.”

 

Cheryl fondled one of her huge hoop earrings. She had grossly long fake nails. “I was just beginning to think the Egbert place would never get sold, what with all the rumours.”

 

Gossip. Gossip was Rose’s worst enemy. She despised rumours and nosy, prying people. It was a little bit hypocritical, considering that she herself was a very nosy and prying person, but at least she kept things to herself. She was about to brace herself to pretend to be politely interested, but Jade beat her too it.

 

“What kind of rumours?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear as if to hear the answer better.

 

Rose could tell by the way Cheryl’s eyes lit up that this question was exactly what she wanted to hear. “You haven’t heard?” she exclaimed. “That house has been empty for three years. No one knows why it hasn’t been sold until now, just that it’s been for sale ever since the last owner’s son died.”

 

“What does that have to do with rumours?” Jade asked, tilting her head.

 

“Well,” Cheryl clasped her hands together, “We - the neighbours, I mean - have been noticing some very strange things about the house.”

 

“What kind of strange things?” Rose queried, growing frustrated by the dialogue.

 

“Strange things like music. In the middle of the night. Faint piano music. Lights coming on and off. Sometimes,” her voice became a stage whisper and she leaned closer, like she was telling them all a secret, “one of us will see a figure moving past the windows. A shadow of a person.”

 

“Of course you had to go and buy the fuckin’ haunted house, Rose,” Dave quipped. “Nice going.”

 

Cheryl laughed, a nasally, annoying noise.

 

“In any case, thank you for this information, Cheryl,” Rose said with a nod and a fake smile. “We’ll keep it in mind.”

 

Without much more, they got into the porsche and drove away. Rose watched Cheryl walk back across the street to her own house in the rearview mirror.

 

Rose dropped Dave and Jade at a corner in town, then proceeded to the university on her own. They each did their own tasks; Jade brought back several packs of seeds and pots, Dave printed out a resume at the library, and Rose signed up for her classes for the fall.That night, Jade cooked them stir-fry for dinner, insisting that it was way better with her homegrown veggies when they told her how delicious it was. They decided that Rose would get the downstairs room with the piano (it has the most space for her bookshelves), Jade would use the bedroom with the window overlooking the front yard (she liked the view of the tree and it reminded her of her room on the island), and Dave would get the master bedroom (he protested, but never liked arguments anyway). Rose got a phone call saying the furniture she’d ordered would arrive the next day.

 

Another night was spent in improvised-sleeping bags on the living room floor. Thunder rumbled ominously from far away, promising a storm to the barren house and its young inhabitants.

 

“Do you believe what that lady said?” Jade asked, prying apart two squiddles and re-attaching them to others.

 

“You mean _Cheryl_?” Dave said, mimicking her Washington accent, which sounded horrible and forced from his naturally southern voice. It was such an unexpected thing, too, that both girls burst out laughing.

 

Between bouts of giggling, Jade said, “Yeah, her.”

 

“Are you asking if we believe there is a ghost in this house?” Rose asked, barely containing her own grin.

 

“Rose and I did hear some weird sounds last night,” Dave disclosed.

 

“All structures make noise, creaking and stuff; us moving around after it’s been empty for so long must have put stress on the framework,” Jade reasoned. “I’m not buying Cheryl’s implications.”

 

“I think it’s plausible,” Rose said.

 

Jade scoffed. “I don’t believe in ghosts. Every piece of so-called scientific evidence of their existence can easily be debunked. All those ghost-hunting shows are fake.”

 

Dave pointed a finger at her. “Hey, don’t question the validity of ghost-hunting shows. _Ghost Adventures_ is the best shit to ever be aired, y’hear me? Nick, Aaron, and Zak are the dream team.”

 

Nobody tried to refute him, because at that moment all three of them froze, goosebumps raising on their arms as the unmistakeable sound of a piano playing echoed from the room beside them.

 

“Someone’s practicing scales,” Rose whispered, her voice chilling.

 

The sound continued, the same seven notes repeating in a descending, then ascending order. The three of them exchanged glances, no one wanting to speak and all visibly unsettled. Jade very much wished she had her gun.

 

“It must be an intruder,” she whispered, gathering her feet under her. “I’m gonna go look.”

 

“I’ll come with you.” Dave stood up too. It was painfully obvious that his confidence was false.

 

Jade leading and Rose watching from the floor, the two of them approached the door to the room. They peeked in, and saw…. nothing. The piano had stopped playing, and there was nothing else in the room. Nothing at all. Their eyes were drawn to the piano though, with its slightly dusty wooden exterior and its polished keys. Rain began to to fall, drumming on the roof and splattering the study’s window.

 

Jade felt as though someone had poured cold water down her back and was sucking the breath right out of her lungs. She turned to Dave. “I don’t get it,” she said, still whispering.

 

Dave shrugged. He was visibly on edge, his shoulders tense and his lips curved into a frown.

 

Jade tapped her fingers on the wall, looking around the room. Again, her eyes were drawn - almost forcefully - to the piano. “Maybe it’s one of those pianos made to play on it’s own? The kind in old-timey bars and stuff. Those exist. I’m gonna go check it out.” Without waiting for a response, Jade stepped into the room and walked to the piano. It was cold to her touch when she put her hands on the lid. Dave stayed by the door, and glanced once at Rose.

 

Jade hefted the top of the piano open and inspected the strings inside. She’d never seen the inside of an automatic piano before, so she didn’t have a real frame of reference, but she felt the mechanism would be rather obvious. As it was, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, other than it was perfectly tuned. She propped it open against the wall and put her hands on her hips as she inspected it. She had the unnerving feeling of being watched.

 

The moment she turned to report her findings, the lid of the piano slammed shut with a loud noise that frightened all of them. Jade yelped and jumped to the side. Dave ducked and turned sharply away. Rose jolted, her hands reflexively coming up to her chest.

 

Jade went, “Fuck!”

 

Dave and Rose exhaled, at the same time,  “Jesus Christ.”

 

Jade and Dave came back into the living room, but didn’t sit back down. They were both trying to hide that they were nervous.

 

“Didn’t Cheryl say the previous owner’s son died?” Rose said.

 

“There _has_ to be a scientific explanation,” Jade insisted.

 

“What science slammed that lid down?” Dave asked accusingly.

 

Jade shot him a look. “Gravity.”

 

“I think the death is worth looking into,” Rose said, reaching for her laptop.

 

Dave and Jade took their seats again and exchanged looks as Rose went to work. The harsh light from her computer cast shadows on her face that made her expression look even more grim than it was. After a few minutes of typing and reading, Rose turned her laptop around to show them.

 

“I found his Facebook page. The father - the man I purchased the house from - has an account, but it’s private. I’m assuming the son’s page was made public after his death, as most of the comments are expressions of condolences.”

 

Dave and Jade both leaned in closer to look.

 

“The last comment was over two years ago,” Jade observed.

 

“ _In memory of John Egbert, who will always be remembered as the fun-loving free spirit he was,_ ” Dave read aloud. “This is a little depressing.”

 

Rose turned the computer back around, clicked a few times, and frowned. “It's frozen,” she said, puzzled. She felt the underside of it, making sure it wasn't overheated, but it was barely warm to her touch. “This laptop is barely a year old and has performed marvelously until now.”

 

“It's gotta be the ghost,” Dave said immediately.

 

“Shut up,” Jade said, sticking her tongue out at him. “Maybe there's something wrong with your processor?” she suggested to Rose.

 

Rose clicked another few times and said, “There we go.” Dave felt a chill on his left side, almost like a passing breeze. Lightning flashed outside, briefly illuminating the room, and a drum of thunder soon followed.

 

Rose scrolled a little bit, her eyes flicking as she scanned through the page. “Ah, here. It appears to be a post from the father. _I know that John’s sudden passing has been a shock to everyone, and while I am rather devastated myself, I appreciate every message of sympathy I have received. I plan to leave John’s social medias open and untouched out of respect for him and so that others may remember him for his own words, not from the words of others._ Then it just goes on to thank some people and deliver a message of courage and well-wishes.”

 

“How did he die?” Jade asked, looking from the screen up to Rose.

 

Rose consulted the page again. “Hm. It doesn’t say. This is a post from John, about two weeks before the announcement of his death. _Finally beat Crash Bandicoot! Next in the line of retro replays: Mega Man X_. Smiley face.”

 

“Seems pretty chipper for a guy who was about to die,” Dave said.

 

Jade elbowed him. “Didn’t the father’s message say ‘sudden passing’? He must not’ve known,” she stated. “It’s unfortunate, but I don’t think he’s still around.”

 

“No?” Rose tilted her head. “I suppose the only way to know for sure is ask.”

 

“And how are we going to do that,” Dave deadpanned.

 

Rose smiled slyly, then shut her laptop and placed it carefully aside. “That,” she said, “is for me to know, and you to ponder ceaselessly until I show you tomorrow.”

 

Dave groaned and whacked her gently with his pillow as she giggled. “You’re the woooooorst,” he complained.

 

“Why can’t you tell us now?” Jade pleaded.

 

Rose’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “I enjoy holding things over people’s heads and watching them jump for it.”

 

“You’re mean.” Jade kicked her foot good-naturedly.

 

“One of you be a dear and turn out the light?” Rose asked innocently. “I’m rather tired from our day out.”

 

///////

 

The storm abated with the day, leaving the sky scattered with benevolent white clouds. Water trickled off the eaves and swirled down street drains. Dave went outside to take pictures, when he got up. Rose sat on the floor in the living room doing paperwork and eating a bowl of fruit and yogurt. Jade went into the backyard to plant pumpkins.

 

Around noon, the truck full of Rose’s things arrived. Jade and Dave helped the mover people carry in the furniture while Rose directed traffic. Boxes piled up in the front hall. Dave was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of _stuff._ He knew that Rose came from a rich family, but so had Jade, and _she_ only brought one big trunk plus a couple bags. Dave had grown accustomed to not having many possessions over the course of the year previous to moving in with Rose, so the towers of boxes seemed ridiculous to him.

 

As it turned out, most of them were stuffed to bursting with books.

 

The moving people had left a few minutes ago, so now Rose and Jade were on the floor putting together one of several yet-assembled bookshelves meant to occupy the bare walls.

 

“How does a person have the fuckin’ time to read all these books?” Dave said disbelievingly, kicking one of the open boxes of novels in Rose’s claimed room downstairs.

 

Rose flicked her eyes up from where they had been previously occupied with deciphering the building instructions. “One makes time for the things that one is passionate about,” she replied evenly. “Is that not so?”

 

Dave shrugged. “I mean, I guess, but with the amount you got here - I’m estimating two, maybe three metric fucktons? - it’s got me thinking that you must read in place of eatin’ and sleepin’.”

 

Rose smiled coyly and said, “Who’s to say I don’t?”

 

“Dave, can you please pass me a number two phillips screwdriver?” Jade asked. He obligingly turned to the piano, atop which sat Jade’s toolbox, which was actually a dented tin lunchbox, and grabbed the first screwdriver he saw.

 

Dave tossed it to her and she caught it. “Is that right?” he asked.

 

She smiled patiently and leaned forward, stretching her arm out to hand it back to him. “This is a number three flathead, Dave,” she informed him kindly. His ears burned as he took it back from her and put it back in the lunchbox. “The phillips screwdrivers have blue handles. There should be one with a little white two on it.” Dave tried again, and held up one that matched her description. She nodded, so he passed it to her.

 

“Sorry, I’m kinda useless with this sort of stuff,” Dave muttered.

 

“It’s fine! We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I’m not nearly as funny or cool as you, Dave,” Jade said, sticking her tongue out teasingly.

 

“Lighten up,” Rose said gently, when Dave didn’t smile.

 

Dave snorted. “Look who’s talking, gothy mcgoth girl.”

 

Rose touched her black elastic choker, like she was offended. “I am a _pastel grunge emo_ , thank you very much.”

 

Dave hid his smile, but not very well, judging by the way Rose’s eyes twinkled. “Whatever,” he said, feigning flippancy. “I’m gonna go eat a sandwich, or something.”

 

“Can you make one for me too, please?” Jade piped. “I’d kill for some peanut butter and honey.”

 

“Strider catering is on the case.” Dave saluted, then left the girls to their tinkering while he made food. Three sandwiches later, the three of them were once again in the kitchen together, now at a table.

 

After dabbing the residual jelly from her lips, Rose cleared her throat to interrupt Jade and Dave’s heated conversation about _The Lion King._ “Are the two of you ready to contact John?” she asked, looking from one to the other.

 

Dave shifted his sunglasses higher on his nose and snorted. “What, you bring a Ouija board or something?” Rose’s face split into a grin, which made Dave raise his eyebrows and say, “You’re kidding me.”

 

“I’ve never attempted to use it with other people before,” Rose said as she stood. “If the two of you would clear the table, I’ll go get it.”

 

“Rose, c’mon,” Dave complained as she floated out of the room. “We shouldn’t mess with that stuff!”

 

Jade nudged his shoulder and collected his plate. “Don’t be such a wuss, Dave! It’s not scary, because it’s not real. Maybe it’ll be fun!”

 

"You say it's not real, but how else do you explain what happened with the piano?"

 

Jade huffed. "I don't know, okay, but it wasn't a ghost!"

 

Dave muttered under his breath and stood up to put away the jars of peanut butter and jelly he had left open on the counter. Jade lowered the dirty dishes into the sink, humming under her breath. Just as the plates clinked against the bottom, the faucet started to glug ominously, causing both Dave and Jade to stare at it. Jade’s expression twisted with curiosity.

 

“Huh. There must be something wrong with the pi-AIEE!!!” Her sentence was cut off by a scream when the faucet suddenly burst with a loud _CLANG_ and sprayed water all over the kitchen- but mostly on Jade.

 

Dave went “Holy shit,” and blindly sprung forward, trying to use his hands to block the spray.

 

“Towel! Get a towel!” Jade yelped. She started yanking open drawers to look for Rose’s hand-towels.

 

Hurried footsteps preceded Rose’s forceful re-entrance to the kitchen. “What happened?!”

 

“The ghost heard Jade talking smack and fucking- pbthhhh-” Dave sputtered, water shooting into his mouth when he moved his hands. Jade had finally retrieved a towel and she shoved it at Dave. He pressed it against the flow of the water, managing to get it under control. Water dribbled down his face.

 

“The ghost nothing,” Jade huffed as she threw open the doors under the sink. “Something must have gone wrong when they switched on the water. I need my toolbox.”

 

“I’ll get it,” Rose offered. She surveyed her soggy friends, the puddles of water on the floor and counter, and sighed. “I’ll grab some more towels while I’m at it. I suppose the seance will have to wait.”


	2. -> Haunt your house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to write the entire seance scene from John's perspective, but I quickly scrapped that idea. Still, I did end up with a bit of John POV and I feel bad that I haven't updated this in a while so consider this like... chapter 1.5

………….

 

……………..

 

….

 

_ “...When’s the furniture coming...?” _

 

_ “...It’s not confirmed… Sometime this week…” _

 

………….

 

……..

 

...For the first time in a while, John was.

 

He was alone in his house. 

 

Or was he? 

 

He could hear faint voices, trickling through the veil. 

 

He stood up from where he’d been sitting (?) on his bed. (there was no bed there anymore)

 

The voices were downstairs, so that’s where John went. The sunlight was strong, so he was weak and faded. He tried to catch a glimpse of the people, but their forms were watery and faint; mere chemtrails. Their voices were once again foggy and unclear.

 

They moved about, their forms flashing by faster than John thought they ought. Or maybe everything here, on John’s side, was just moving slower.

 

...Yeah. It was probably that.

 

John wandered over to the piano. It was slightly blurry too, but it’d been there so long that it’s form was nearly solid to John, its chemtrail thick and soupy enough for John to actually put his hands in it. Except when the sun was out.

 

One of the blurry-wavy people came into the piano room. Rested their watery hands on the piano. John felt a spike of anger. That was  _ his _ piano. He remembered-

 

Dad, teaching him to play-

 

Their fingers, some young and chubby, others older, more experienced-

 

Hands would dance across the keys, spelling out beautiful songs-

 

John tried to push the person away.

 

“Don’t touch that, it’s not yours!” he shouted. His voice came out so quiet though, so distant, even to his own ears. His hands slid right through the person’s form, not budging them an inch. John growled in frustration.

 

The person left anyway.

 

….

 

……….

 

Now there were three of them.

 

John paced the floor upstairs, growing wary. Before, people would come in and out of the house, looking around. He always did his best to make them uncomfortable, to scare them away. Usually, it worked. So why were these three here?

 

Again, the colour-blurry chemtrails of the people sped along around him, unaware of his presence. The doors kept closing behind them. He preferred his doors  _ open. _

 

When the moonlight provided him an anchor for his touch, he pushed the doors open again.

 

That's better.

 

...

 

He kept hearing the voices. They would bubble closer but not quite enough for him to hear. He descended the stairs, saw the candles the people had laid out. He walked a circle around them, and the candles flickered in turn as he passed. They were warm. John couldn’t feel their warmth (couldn’t feel anything) but he knew it somehow anyway. The fire, the energy of it… it was almost tangible. Almost. It was the brightest thing in this faded, blurry world of his, at least.

 

Then, he wasn’t.

 

……...


End file.
